How to retire by age 50
These are the steps to early retirement: just kidding. I don't know a tried and true method to achieve this goal. It is something I've been reading a lot about lately. Tons of people blog about it. They all have their own theories. There's a following that lives on 25% of their income and saves the rest. One guy eats spoonfuls of oil for dinner. It's "the most calories for your money." And he tries to make the nutritional argument that every diet needs some fat.
I don't want to go to such extremes as eating spoonfuls of canola oil for a snack, but I would like to simplify life and get out of the rat race sooner rather than later. In general, the trick is to live on less and therefore be able to save more. It's tough, because our culture and the very spirit of capitalism is to work harder to make more money to spend more money and get better stuff. Bigger houses, grander vacations, nicer clothes, etc. The temptation is strong for me to try to keep up with the Joneses.
I just need to look at it as delayed gratification. But the thing is, I think even with an extreme savings plan, I'll retire at a normal age. Without social security and the pensions the older generation has, I have to save like crazy if I want any sort of life in retirement. Especially since I plan on living past age 100.
And what about the stock market? That seems like riskier and riskier business. If the democrats have their way, all my savings will be taxed like crazy anyway. All the advantages of investing in a 401k will disappear. It's easy to look at the future and just worry.
I guess I'll just try to save more than the average person and find a balance of spending money on things I enjoy without going overboard. And maybe someday, weekends won't mean much to me because I'll be on 52 weeks vacation a year...
I don't want to go to such extremes as eating spoonfuls of canola oil for a snack, but I would like to simplify life and get out of the rat race sooner rather than later. In general, the trick is to live on less and therefore be able to save more. It's tough, because our culture and the very spirit of capitalism is to work harder to make more money to spend more money and get better stuff. Bigger houses, grander vacations, nicer clothes, etc. The temptation is strong for me to try to keep up with the Joneses.
I just need to look at it as delayed gratification. But the thing is, I think even with an extreme savings plan, I'll retire at a normal age. Without social security and the pensions the older generation has, I have to save like crazy if I want any sort of life in retirement. Especially since I plan on living past age 100.
And what about the stock market? That seems like riskier and riskier business. If the democrats have their way, all my savings will be taxed like crazy anyway. All the advantages of investing in a 401k will disappear. It's easy to look at the future and just worry.
I guess I'll just try to save more than the average person and find a balance of spending money on things I enjoy without going overboard. And maybe someday, weekends won't mean much to me because I'll be on 52 weeks vacation a year...
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